


Cherry Chapstick

by imagineering



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Getting Together, Karma is Confused, M/M, Nagisa is glad to clarify it for him, Short One Shot, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 11:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29998485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagineering/pseuds/imagineering
Summary: The cold weather is being tough on Nagisa's lips, and Karma might just be losing his head over it.
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Shiota Nagisa
Comments: 8
Kudos: 95





	Cherry Chapstick

**Author's Note:**

> Hi,  
> Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoy this very short piece about those two guys. The title is taken from a Katy Perry song, as you might have noticed. I'm not exactly a fan, but once you've got it stuck in your head, it won't go away. I don't own any characters or even those lyrics, though.  
> Thanks to J&C for the brainstorming, and thanks to T for reading the roughest of versions of this and being kind about it.

The weather is slowly leaning towards spring, Karma notices, as he and Nagisa make their way through the city. The last remnants of snow have finally given way to milder temperatures, and there's a gentle breeze ruffling Nagisa's bright blue and newly short hair.

"It suits you," Karma says out of nowhere.

"What's that?" Nagisa asks him, after he stops worrying his lower lip for a moment.

"Your hair. It brings it your neckline," Karma replies, voice kept carefully light.

It's a cadence he likes to use to tease, and the way Nagisa's brows are furrowing shows that his best friend is well aware of that. He wonders if Nagisa also knows that Karma isn't joking, exactly, and there's more than a grain of truth to the compliment. In his lighter jacket and without the scarf, they seem more pronounced, Nagisa's slender features, the elegant bow of his head, the delicate, fragile column of his neck, exposed by the short, skyblue tresses.

"Thank you," Nagisa finally replies, adding with a sigh, "it isn't quite what I was going for, but I guess I'm never going to look handsome in a more masculine way like you do, Karma."

His teeth start nibbling at his bottom lip again. Karma feels a lick of heat rear up in his stomach at Nagisa's words.

It's disconcerting, so he covers it up by a leer and says, "You're a classic beauty, Nagisa-chan, what else are you wishing for?"

"Stop it, you idiot!" Nagisa scowls, but the way he playfully shoves Karma away betrays his amusement.

The atmosphere between them has grown even lighter during the last year. Karma wonders how that happened, whether they simply understand each other better now, or whether it's all their common adventures that connect them on a deeper level.

If the year that passed after their time in the E-class has taught him one thing, it's that Nagisa is going to stay his closest friend for the rest of his life. Karma doesn't think there's ever going to be anyone who understands him and sees him so completely, so unafraid, as him. They still have the same eyes, the two of them, the eyes of a killer.

"Do you mind stopping by the convenience store? I need some chapstick," Nagisa says, index finger tapping against his lower lip, red and indeed sightly chapped.

"Sure, we can get snacks for the movie, too," Karma replies easily.

The cinema is two streets over, though, and they don't have much time left, so Karma drags Nagisa through the store quickly once they've entered, making a beeline for the sweets section.

"Wait, Karma, the chapstick!" Nagisa complains, as Karma pulls him along by his wrist.

Karma pretends he doesn't notice, but he slows down just enough as they pass that particular range of goods, so that Nagisa can blindly grab one, before he moves on. Just in order to irk his friend, he then makes a show of carefully selecting some cherry candy and chocolate cookies, until it's Nagisa who impatiently shepherds him to the till.

Karma smirks as they make their way to the theater running, carefully keeping his speed just a little bit above Nagisa's, whom he dwarfs by almost twenty centimeters now. While Nagisa is still faster than he looks, he has no chance of keeping up with Karma's longer legs.

"I really hate you, Karma," Nagisa pants, as they arrive and join the line in front of the ticket sales.

"No, you don't," Karma grins sweetly, and pays for Nagisa's entry to make up for it.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Nagisa fiddle with the small tube of lip balm he bought.

"Should we get popcorn?" Nagisa asks, when they leave the queue behind and enter the main hall of the cinema that leads to the different theaters.

Karma looks at him, intending to answer, and stops in his tracks. Nagisa, noticing his hesitation instantly, turns to him.

"Is everything alright?" he asks, concern lacing his voice.

No, Karma thinks, because it isn't. Nagisa's lips are a shiny, glistening pink. Karma can't tear his eyes away. They look perfect, soft and inviting. Nagisa's lower lip is just a little bigger than his upper one, giving his mouth a lovely, natural pout. Karma wants to sink his teeth into it. He wants to eat him up, looking like that, and his brain goes into overdrive.

"Yes. To both," he croaks weakly, using all his strength to focus his eyes elsewhere, but they always snap right back to that infuriating, perfect mouth.

"Alright, let me get it, then," Nagisa says, and makes to walk over to the vendor.

"No!" Karma nearly shouts. More calmly, he adds: "You go ahead, I'll join you in a moment."

Nagisa looks at him in confusion but nods, and Karma, heart racing and palms slightly damp, sets out to buy popcorn.

He knows he shouldn't panic. It's been an honest mistake on Nagisa's part, he just grabbed the wrong product. This shouldn't be an issue, and it shouldn't throw Karma off his game this way. If Nakamura were here, she'd die of laughter, and he can't allow her to out-bully him.

This should be the perfect opportunity for him to poke some more fun at Nagisa's masculinity, not for him to suddenly consider all the virtues of bright pink chapstick on a pair of absolutely luscious, perfectly shaped, kissable lips. He groans, loud enough for the person in front of him to send him an irritated glare.

When he walks into the hall, Karma has a plan. He bought a couple of drinks with his popcorn but didn't take any straws with him, figuring the color will wear off more quickly if Nagisa has to directly bring the beverage to his mouth.

Joining his friend in their seats at the back of the theater, close to the middle of the row, he hands him the paper cup.

"Oh, thank you, Karma!" Nagisa smiles.

His mouth sparkles even in the dim lighting. Karma swallows hard.

"Sure," he says, and his voice sounds a little rough.

Nagisa takes off his backpack and rummages through it. Karma stares in confusion.

"It's good you didn't bring 3-D glasses and straws. I wanted to ask you not to, but it seems like we thought the same. I also figured we could try to keep our environmental footprint smaller," Nagisa says, and presses some glasses and a reusable straw into Karma's hands.

Karma takes them mechanically and remains quiet, not ready to admit that he was too preoccupied to remember the glasses. He watches helplessly as Nagisa pushes his own straw through the plastic lid of the cup and proceeds to wrap his lips around it in a way so sensuous it would've made Bitch-sensei blush.

"Are you sure you're alright? You're staring," Nagisa asks, putting his drink down.

"No, I'm fine," Karma says hastily, after coughing twice to clear his throat.

Nagisa scrutinizes him for a moment, before rummaging through his backpack again and pulling out the bag of cherry candy. He opens it and takes out two pieces, one of which he pops into his own mouth, the other he holds out for his friend.

"You sound hoarse," he says gently.

Karma thinks his face must be either the color of a fire hydrant or that of a sheet, for all he doesn't feel it in the slightest anymore. He reaches out for the offered sweet weakly. It does help a little with how dry his mouth is. It doesn't help, however, tearing his eyes from Nagisa's lips, especially as he takes out the chapstick and applies it anew.

Karma tries to look anywhere else and makes the mistake of finding Nagisa's eyes. An old feeling rears its scary head. It's like a snake has suddenly closed its fangs around Karma, a trap snapped shut, leaving him caught and exposed and helpless. There's a hint of a smirk that ghosts around the corners of Nagisa's deep blue eyes.

He knows, Karma realizes, and he can't even tell what exactly it is the other knows, and whether Karma knows all of that himself.

It's precisely the moment where the lights go down. Karma almost twitches as Nagisa leans into him.

"Would you like some chapstick, Ka-ru-ma-kun?" he whispers, enunciating every syllable in a way that messes with Karma's head more than Koro-sensei's mind games.

"Y-yes," he stutters, helpless and confused, and it's Nagisa who smirks and leans in, pushing a pair of glorious lips against Karma's, and it's Karma who finally finds out that, when it comes down to it, he isn't able to get in nearly as many hits as he thought he would.

It doesn't really matter though, he thinks, tasting lip balm and cherry candy when they separate and Nagisa smiles at him, a little flushed, chapstick smeared around his mouth, eyes luminous, it's not something he can't practice.


End file.
